*Japan the country to beat in judo*
----------------------------------- 

By Sandy Zinn 
SportsTicker Senior Editor 

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- No matter what happens to
Japanese athletes in Sydney, at least there's judo. 

Japanese judoka have been far from gentle in the event whose
name means "the gentle way" in their native tongue, and their
dominance could continue in the Olympics this month. 

The nation combined for eight gold medals at last year's world
championships after representing Japan's entire medal count with
eight at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. 

Ryoka Tamura isn't the biggest of the Japanese judoka, but she's
a giant in the sport.  The extra lightweight of 106 pounds is a
four-time world champion and two-time silver medalist. 

In 1992 at Barcelona, Spain, Tamura, then a 16-year-old high
school student, finished second behind France's Cecile Nowak as
women's judo made its debut as an official medal sport. 

Four years later, Tamura fell victim to one of the most stunning
upsets of the Atlanta Games, losing to 16-year-old North Korean
Kye Sun-Hui. 

With Kye moving up a division to half lightweight, Tamura's main
competition should come from two-time Olympic bronze medalist
Amarilis Savon of Cuba. 

Tamura, who is 12-0 lifetime against Savon, has a chance to get
Japan off on the right foot on the first day of Olympic
competition -- September 16. 

Extra lightweight Tadahiro Nomura can do the same for Japan on
the men's side. He won the 60-kilogram gold medal in Atlanta,
minutes after Tamura's upset loss. 

Nomura returned from a year-long injury layoff to defeat world
silver medalist Kazuhiko Tokuno at this year's national
championships, setting up a possible showdown with world titlist
Manolo Poulot of Cuba. 

Japan also boasts two of the largest stars in judo, a
hand-to-hand combat sport developed by Japanese doctor Jigoro
Kano in the 1880s. 

World champion heavyweights Shinichi Shinohara and Kosei Inoue
are considered top contenders in Sydney and combine with Nomura
to give Japan the most formidable men's team. 

Shinohara is considered a shoe-in for gold in the heavyweight
class, and Japanese flag-bearer Inoue provides the nation with
the favorite at half-heavyweight. 

Frenchman David Douillet is the best bet to keep Shinohara from
the gold medal.  He has won the last three world championships
and is the reigning Olympic gold medalist. 

Japan also has Noriko Narazaki, Noriko Anno and Keiko Maeda --
world champions on the women's side -- and former Olympic
champions Hidehiko Yoshida and Kenzo Nakamura in the men's
bracket. 

The main competition for the Japanese athletes should come from
France, Korea, Germany and Belgium on the men's side and Cuba in
the women's competition. 

In the 36-year history of the Olympic sport, American men have
won eight medals.  Lightweight James Pedro claimed the country's
only one -- a bronze -- in 1996. 

The judo competition is held over seven days, one for each
weight class. 

st 09-15-00 04:49 et